Speaking Tour!

I will be doing a short tour of the U.K. next week, speaking on a brand new mystery topic! I'll be in Edinburgh on Sunday May 9th, Oxford on the 10th, Manchester on the 11th and Newcastle on the 12th. Tickets and more information are available at: http://www.malcolmgladwell-live.com/

Let's hope they record your talks - and please touch on your new piece in the New Yorker, "Pandora's Briefcase, It was a dazzling feat of wartime espionage. But does it argue for or against spying? This was quite a step away from your usual work.

I enjoyed Outliers very much. I sold helicopters in the Northeast for many years and in doing so I dealt with many very very successful people and for the most part you have it right. However on page 97 you are dead wrong and Chris Langan is right, our universities are the most rigid and uniform sector in our society. Very little in breakthrough concepts and technology come from our schools; if you want to see real originality you should visit DARPA nad see what their contracts yeild, and most come from bussinesses not scholarly institutions.

I think you should concede that your statements about QBs were misguided. That entire episode continues to cast a poor light on your understanding of sports and emotional maturity.

Now that you have had some time to heal, I think you should take a deep breath and respond to the data. Everyone not named Berri who studies sports statistics knows that you missed the mark. At some point you should respond, like an adult, without dismissing your critics as racist or un-credentialed.

Congrats! Any chance for a Malcolm Gladwell review of the UVa Lacrosse murder, either on the blog or in the New Yorker? I remember you were at Charlottesville with your review about talent and McKinsey. I think your recent scholarship on how the world works would be helpful to the public.

Could I make a suggestion for some future Gladwell magic? I work in IT sales - a competitive enough field. I think that the success criteria for sales would sit very comfortably with some of the other work you've done. For example, at different times I've been massively successful and a complete flop, and I'd say the reason for the difference was (a) the product and (b) the company culture - yet the myth persists that the salesman himself is the key!

There's a huge industry of sales training which I'm convinced is irrelevant. People buy from me for two reasons - I've manouevred myself into a position with the current leading supplier; and they like me. That's it.

Whenever I've tried to use learned sales techniques I've flopped. Whenever I've taken some time to centre myself, really engage with the other person and do my best to act honourably, I've won.

The only common factor I can see between successful salespeople is a certain mental agility. Apart from this we have all sorts of personalities, and people who range from average intelligence to Mensa types. We have aggressive narcissists who'd sell their grannies, and altruists who'd take a bullet for a stranger.

Sorry it's such a long post; just about to finish 'The Dog' and so I'll be starved until your next one comes out.

I wanted to buy tickets for your Oxford event tonight, but Ticketmaster have let you down (that's a British understatement)! Do let me know if you're coming back to UK (if you're not using Ticketmaster). Keep the books coming !

Where is the tipping point in Mexico's war on drugs? High demand equals continuing supply, illicit substances equal high prices, and high revenues mean cartel power over the State. In this world of spanning connectivity, maybe, just maybe, you'll respond. Owensowens7@gmail.com (Jacob)

i literally feel like my mind can't work quickly enough to keep up with all the thoughts that are flooding through. i have never felt so overwhelmed by an address, granted the subject matter was close to heart, i have had cancer and my father is about to take part in a medical trial but it was more than that. you put me in the room when the tears fell and opened my mind to a type of character that i have never had the privilege to meet. due to being overwhelmed, i felt i wanted to gift something to you and now am embarrassed that i acted quite rudely in simply depositing that item on the desk in front of you. i apologise for that rudeness and my only excuse is feeling other worldly at the time. for reasons i won't explain you have changed my life tonight and possibly given me courage to have a conversation i should have had a long time ago. thank you

The two hour drive from Wales to get to your Manchester venue, and then back again yesterday evening, was time very well spent given the return.

After working for over two decades in acute hospital settings, your talk opened my mind to a radically alternative view of drug companies and more importantly, the people with incredible ideas and unremitting drive that work within them. Previously, I had little or to be more honest, no real sense of the personal risks that these exceptional people take, driven by their passionate need to drive clinical knowledge forward in order to make a difference.

I would like to see Mr. Gladwell delve into the topic of jealousy; I believe it is a strong emotion that rules a good part of the world, and that people are propelled by it to such a degree that it can be the navigational force behind their entire lives. Would be so interesting for him to get into that...

A blue rose? A lifetime spent with old, fragrant roses - I have no need nor do many others for a blue rose. But it is fascinating to read to what extent some scientists (?) and others have gone to to create one. I would truly enjoy your investigation.

Bio

I'm a writer for the New Yorker magazine, and the author of four books, "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference", "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" and "Outliers: The Story of Success." My latest book, "What the Dog Saw" is a compilation of stories published in The New Yorker. I was born in England, and raised in southwestern Ontario in Canada. Now I live in New York City.

My great claim to fame is that I'm from the town where they invented the BlackBerry. My family also believes (with some justification) that we are distantly related to Colin Powell. I invite you to look closely at the photograph above and draw your own conclusions.